Buenos Aires Defense Memorial Day

Between July 5 and 7, 1807, the tenacious defense of the city of Buenos Aires took place, facing the second attempt of the English to occupy both margins of the Río de la Plata.

The Regiment of Patricios led the defense of the city against the second attempt of occupation by the English, with a much larger number of troops than they had used in 1806. The English general John Whitelocke employed ten times more soldiers than his predecessor Beresford.

On July 5, Whitelocke ordered the advance of his troops, divided into 13 columns from the north and south, in an enveloping maneuver on the Plaza Mayor. The people of Buenos Aires resisted heroically, taking advantage of the layout of its streets at right angles. Military and civilians operated rifles and cannons in the street. Old men, women, children and slaves turned every house into a strong combat trench, throwing all kinds of objects from the rooftops and windows. Some historians speak of the use of hot liquids, which could have been oil, water or animal fat.

When advancing against the first barricade that covered the entrance to the square, the British suffered dozens of casualties in each barricade and in each wave of red coats that advanced. Within minutes, the dead numbered in the hundreds. The fighting then spread to the streets and houses.

By the end of the day, with thousands of casualties, the British troops had been unable to enter the strong point of the city. Although Whitelocke had taken 10,000 troops, Liniers had managed to organize and arm almost 7,000, between militias and formal troops. The knowledge of the place, the fortification, the popular participation with its fervor and its hard harassment to the English advance, the correct choice of the place of the decisive combat were the most important aspects for the Defense.

The English commander refused the intimation of surrender, but seeing that the spirit, the attitude and the fortification of the locals did not diminish, on July 7 he surrendered, signing the treaty that put an end to the armed action.

The British had lost about 2,500 men, among dead, wounded and prisoners, and the defenders about 1,600.